Centered

How to spell centered

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce centered

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does centered mean?

1. verbPast tense of center: to have placed something in the middle, or to have focused attention on a particular thing.
2. adjectiveFeeling calm, grounded, and emotionally balanced.

Centered in a sentence

• verb

  The whole meeting centered on the new budget proposal.

• adjective

  After a short walk she felt calm and centered again.

• verb

  She centered the logo perfectly on the printed page.

• adjective

  He stayed centered despite the pressure of the deadline.

Where does centered come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past-tense and participle form of the verb 'center', whose American spelling keeps the -er ending. The root traces to the Latin 'centrum', meaning the fixed point of a compass or the middle of a circle, which Latin in turn borrowed from the Greek 'kentron', literally 'a sharp point' or 'a spur'. That Greek noun came from the verb 'kentein', meaning 'to prick' or 'to goad', because the central point was where the compass leg pricked the surface while a circle was drawn. English took 'centre' through Old French in the 1300s, and the verb sense of placing something in the middle developed later. American usage settled on the 'center'/'centered' spelling that mirrors pronunciation, while British and Canadian writers kept the older 'centre'/'centred' order of letters.

How the word is built

• cent- (from Latin centrum: midpoint)
• -er (noun ending)
• -ed (past tense / participle suffix)

British and American spelling

Centered is the American spelling. British English spells it centred.